A vivid, romantic story of Sydney in the 1930s Depression - the heartbreak, the glamour, the dark underbelly, the struggle towards a better day - and one young woman's dream of designing her way from rags to riches.
For readers of Natasha Lester and Victoria Purman.

1930: Seventeen-year-old Iris Mitchell dreams of designing clothes, but there's little spare cash for fashion in their shanty-town home. The gift of a single purple ribbon from would-be boyfriend John Tucker, however, creates an unexpected opportunity ... and when Iris's brother Jim joins the Sydney Harbour Bridge construction, the large, dirt-poor but loving Mitchell family can move to the city. Iris will be torn away from John, but he's Protestant and she's Catholic, taboo in their world, ​so perhaps it wasn't meant to be ...
1932: By day, Iris scrubs the floors at Caron's, an upmarket department store. By night, she designs and sews in her family's tiny, crowded house. Friendship with gorgeous, livewire Natasha, one of Caron's models, allows Iris to show her skills, but will her talent be acknowledged ... or exploited?
​
When John reappears, passions are reignited, and Iris must face not only their religious divide, but the apparent impossibility of having both marriage and a career. Meanwhile, the Mitchells must navigate life in a city riven by corruption, dirty politics and gambling. Will their faith, determination and deep family bond save them when tragedy and adversity strike? In 1930s Sydney, the stakes have never been higher ...


​Mary-Anne O'Connor supports women in crisis.

Other bestselling novels by Mary-Anne O'Connor:


​'Through her sensitivity, beautiful writing and gift as a story teller O’Connor’s
readers will come to know and love her characters'
​ - Weekly Times

​
​'Wins over the reader with the clarity of her characters and a strong plot'
- Mike Bruce, Daily Telegraph
'War Flower is a roller-coaster of emotions. One minute it will have you laughing; the next you'll be heartbroken. It's that good.' - Good Reading Magazine
"In a Great Southern Land  is another highly regarded novel from Mary-Anne O’Connor, a superior voice in Australian historical fiction. - Mrs B Book Reviews
​'Aussie author Mary-Anne O’Connor was utterly, heartbreakingly brilliant!' - Brenda, Netgalley
'Heart-warming and heart-wrenching' - the Hoopla 
'Moved us deeply'- Apple iBooks 
'Will stay with you well after you have finished reading it' - QBD bookstores
​'A fresh, new voice in Australian fiction' - A Reader's Heaven
​Book of the month QBD: http://blog.qbd.com.au/2015/04/01/book-of-the-month-gallipoli-street/
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